Snow White and the Seven Pirates
by ParanoiaQueen
Summary: Nami was a princess until her mother was killed by an evil pirate, to save her kingdom she becomes a thief by the name of Snow White. When the pirate plots to kill her she runs away and meets 7 pirates and a swordsman
1. Chapter 1

_**What happened before**_

_Long long ago in a kingdom far far away a baby girl named Nami was born to the king and queen. She was the second daughter and soon after her birth her father died leaving her mother to raise her and her sister while ruling the kingdom. The three lived happily and had many good times together before disaster struck when Nami was seven._

_A man named Arlong appeared before them demanding that he be named ruler, when his demands were not met he staged a hostile takeover, killing the queen in the process. Nami and her sister escaped into the village after witnessing their mothers death but Nami went back to try and free the village she loved. She made a deal with Arlong to buy back the village and spent the next 11 years of her life stealing from pirates and bandits to save up enough money to accomplish her goal. When Nami was 18 Arlong went back on his deal, he sent out his henchman Hachi to kill her and called on four others to steal all of the money she had collected._

**Present day:**

A white haired thief ran as fast as she could through the woods. She had shoulder length hair, a white mask, all white clothes and a white sack with something in it slung over her shoulder. She was called Snow White and was infamous for steal from bandits and pirates. Suddenly she came to a stop and turned.

"It seems that you noticed me then," said a large man as he stepped out from behind a grove of trees. The thief made no response to the mystery man. "I have been sent to kill you Snow White, or should I say Nami."

"How did you know Hachi," the girl called Nami said from behind her mask.

"You can't hide anything from Arlong," The swordsman Hachi said naming his boss. "He decided that you don't have value to him anymore and sent me to get rid of you."

"So he sent his swordsman to do all his dirty work did he? And he is backing out of our deal for the village, doesn't he want the money?"

"I don't question his plans, now get out of here before someone comes looking for me, I will not kill a girl I watched grow up but I can't say the same for the others." The thief nodded before swerving off her original path to go to the abandoned cottage that she had visited often with her mother and sister. She was lucky that Hachi was the one that found her, that big softie wouldn't kill a member of his crew if his life depended on it.

Suddenly she came to a screeching halt, she was at the clearing where the cottage from her childhood stood. She had expected to be able to stay the night there, grab all the money she had saved over the years and leave for a new life in the morning. If she was lucky she would even get to say goodbye to her sister who came often to tend the mandarin grove they had planted with their mother. What she really saw when she got there was four of Arlong's men rampaging the lot, probably searching for the treasure she had saved, but how had they known where it was?

Seconds later the cat burglar realized that she couldn't stay here, it was too dangerous. Even though night was falling she had to leave her life tonight, she could probably find somewhere in the woods to sleep, and if she couldn't then she could keep going all night and sleep during the day. Turning back the way she came she ran being careful to avoid the place that she had met Hachi at.

Darkness fell faster than she had anticipated and she was soon submerged in the night in a part of the forest that was hard to navigate in the day, luckily she was good at directions and somehow kept herself from getting lost. She was starting to get paranoid, it felt as if eyes were on her from all directions and as if the trees were grabbing at her. Her wig almost got ripped off her head multiple times and she was thankful for the mask that she had to protect her face.

After what felt like hours of running she finally realized that she was in part of the forest she had never been in before and had no way to determine which way she was going. She was extremely paranoid now, she was tired and scared and to top it all off she was lost with no idea what was going to happen to her. She felt like giving up, the sun was already rising, she had no place to go, she had lost all of her money, and she hadn't slept all night. Dejected she sat down and before you could say money she was fast asleep.

When she woke up she felt much better but she was hungry, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning and she had to eat to keep her strength up, especially when she was running from Arlong. She started to walk, she had to pay attention to look for anything edible, she couldn't afford to be picky in this situation.

Suddenly a mouth watering aroma surrounded her and she followed it to find a…WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT THING? It looked like a ship but it was on land and there was not water around big enough to hold it for miles. She stared at it for a while longer before her stomach growled and she decided to figure out if they would give her food, she could pay for it after all if she really had to. She approached the ship and climbed the ladder. She looked around the deck of the ship before approaching the door leading to the inside and knocked.

"What do you want," came the reply from inside.

"I am a traveler and I smelled food, I was hoping that you had some you could spare." The door opened a moment later to reveal a tall blonde man with an apron. He looked normal enough until you saw his eye brow, it was a spiral. The instant he saw her his visible eye turned to a heart.

"Of course I always have food for a pretty lady," he swooned.

"Thank you," Nami responded as he ushered her inside. She took in the small but well equipped kitchen, the food smelled even better in here than it had before. She sat down at the table and a moment later a plate full of hot food was set in front of her. She looked at the man warily, she would have to remove her mask to eat and it was possible that he might recognize her, she couldn't have word getting back to Arlong that she had escaped alive. Finally she decided to just lift the bottom part of her mask away from her face to allow the fork through.

"How is it?" the blond man asked, he didn't seem to mind her strange way of eating.

"It is delicious thank you…" she paused for his name.

"Sanji, and I am glad you enjoyed it beautiful lady." Until she had finished her food neither of them spoke again. When she was done he took her plate and washed it. She thanked him again and was about to leave when she heard a huge crash and a lot of yelling. Nami quickly put her mask back on, the more people near here the higher chance she would be seen and Arlong would find out that she wasn't dead.

"SANJI FOOOOOOOOOOOOOD," a voice hollered from outside before bursting through the door. The yeller seemed to be the boy in the red vest with the straw hat and there were five others who came in behind him. The one right behind him was a teenage boy with a bandana and a very long nose, then was a very tiny creature that looked like a reindeer. Behind those two was a woman with straight black hair and a purple outfit. After her came a very large man with blue hair and extremely large forearms with stars on them. Lastly came a skeleton with an afro, she had been able to deal with all the other ones but a skeleton was just a bit extreme, she managed to keep her reaction to just a shudder.

The one with the straw hat jumped on to a seat at the table not ever registering that Nami was already there. He pounded his fists on the table and chanted the word food until a steaming plate heaped with enough food to feed a family of six for a week was set in front of him. Nami tried to sneak away but the moment she moved she alerted everyone to her presence.

"Hey Sauf uf ich dis?" (translation: hey Sanji who is this) asked the boy with the red vest without bothering to stop eating.

"A traveler who wanted a meal," the cook responded, "now don't talk with your mouth full in front of the ladies." The blonde man punched the top of his head so hard that he ended up with a face full of dinner.

"Hey Sanji that wasn't very nice," the teenager whined. Nami noticed that the rest of the people were just laughing quietly or didn't notice at all as they helped themselves to the food. Nami tried to use the commotion to get away but she had no such luck.

"So where are you going?" the long nose man asked her.

"I don't know," she didn't know why she was telling the truth but she felt that she had no reason to lie.

"Well than what are you going to do?" it was the boy in the red vest this time.

"Stay away from anyone who knows me until I can start a new life," this brought reality crashing down on her, she could never free the village now, she was supposed to be dead and could do nothing for them. The only way that she could help them now would be to defeat Arlong and she knew that she couldn't do that, no one could. She felt tear slide down her face and was glad for the mask hiding her face.

"Why do you have to do that?" the straw hat guy had somehow finished his food already and seemed thoroughly engrossed in her story.

"…," she paused, should she tell them the story, she didn't know anything about them and they could easily tell Arlong about her but they didn't seem like bad people. She had learned to be wary but this guy with the straw hat looked like he had all of his emotions on his face. "Arlong wants me dead, he thinks I am dead right now and I want to keep it that way." She knew that she probably shouldn't be telling this to them but maybe they could help her.

There was a strained silence in the room before the straw hat guy laughed. "Now that is an adventure," he smiled. She was in shock about his reaction, in fact the only reactions that didn't surprise her were the long nose guy and that reindeer thing. They both looked like they had seen the devil.

"Hey do you want to stay here with us?" the was straw hat again. She looked at him and couldn't believe what he was saying. "Yeah you should join our pirate crew." She knew that it was too good to be true.

"I won't be a pirate, I hate pirates, they kill people and steal and ruin lives." She was spiteful, after all Arlong was a pirate. She looked around after that line and saw that all the smiles had fallen off their faces.

"I understand why you think that but that's not what this crew is about," that was the cook talking. "Trust me hated pirates but this crew is different."

"Why should I trust you, you are a pirate, you are one of them." She couldn't believe it, she had finally thought she had found somewhere good and they were pirates. "I'm leaving."

"We can't let you do that, who's to say that you wouldn't just go and tell the marines where we are." It was the cook again, he had a point but there is no reasoning with a girl on a mission.

"You can't just keep me here," even if they tried she knew she would just get away the moment there was the slightest amount of opportunity. How could these people be pirates, why did she have such bad luck.

"We can and you wouldn't be missed since you are thought dead." It was the blue haired guy saying this, she had to admit that his logic was there but she couldn't believe this was happening.

"I've decided that you should join our crew," it was straw hat saying this.

"I've already said that I won't join a pirate crew."

"You are going to join our crew."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm really not."

"Yes you are, I decided," sheesh was this guy five, and why did she get the feeling that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"He really won't, trust us we all had to deal with that," the cook added, whoops she had apparently said that out loud.

"Fine I'll join your crew," she said exasperatedly, though it wasn't like she wouldn't run away at the first chance she got. Stupid pirates.

"Hooray," the straw hat smiled. "Now I'm Monkey D. Luffy, that is Sanji the cook," he pointed to the blond man, "Robin the archeologist," the woman with the black hair, "Franky the shipwright," the blue haired man, "Brooke the musician," the skeleton, "Chopper the doctor," the reindeer, "and Usopp the sharpshooter. "

"Snow white," she wouldn't tell them her first name and they wouldn't see her without the mask.

_**In the past in a neighboring kingdom**_

_One year before Nami was born in a neighboring kingdom a boy named Zoro was born. His mother died birthing him and his father distanced himself from the young boy allowing him to do as he pleased. At the age of five the boy discovered his love for sword fights and trained daily at the dojo in the village. His greatest rival was the sword master's daughter and his dream was to defeat her. The two became close with their shared dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman and her death hit the young boy hard, but it also motivated him to train as hard as possible to achieve his dream in her honor._

_This young lad wasn't perfect though, he was known to disappear for days and for the longest time no reason was known, finally it was discovered that he had a horrible sense of direction and was just lost during those times. Once when the prince got lost he discovered the Straw Hat pirates and became great friends with them over time. He couldn't join their crew and leave his life as a prince but he was their nakama for as long as his life allowed, though they didn't know that he was a prince. On many days he would travel to their ship, the Going Merry, and spend the day with the crew. Today was one of those days._

**Present day**

He was later than usual today, he had probably missed lunch, but it was one of those times that his father took interest in his education and demanded he study in the morning. He hated when that happened but there was nothing that he could do about it. He sighed as he continued running towards the Going Merry, it was one of the few paths he didn't get lost on since he had taken it so many times. Hoping there was still some food left over he climbed the ladder and entered the kitchen to witness an unexpected scene. A woman in all white with white hair and a white mask was sitting at the table with the crew.

"What the," he muttered, who was this and how had she appeared since yesterday.

"Oi, Zoro, this is Snow White and she just joined our crew," Luffy yelled excitedly, well he was always excited when there was a new member. Wait did he say Snow White, he had heard that name somewhere before.

"Well nice to meet you," Zoro said the girl in white, he would figure out where he had heard the name later. Instead of responding the girl just nodded, he found it creepy how he couldn't tell where she was looking or how she felt about anything because of the mask.

"Why don't I show you where we will sleep," Robin said the new girl, again the girl only nodded and the two left the room.

"What do you even know about her?" Zoro asked, he was often called the realist of the crew. Luffy just looked at him with a confused look.

"What do you mean?" Luffy asked, he obviously didn't think there was anything wrong with asking someone they knew nothing about to join the crew.

"She's on the run from Arlong, he tried to kill her and thinks he succeeded," this was Sanji talking, he knew what Zoro meant and took the role of the voice of reason for the crew when Zoro wasn't there.

"What did she do to make that creeper mad?" Now Arlong was someone that he knew, it was hard to not remember the man who had killed the old monarch and staged a hostile takeover of the kingdom next to his.

"We don't know, she had just told us that he thought she was dead when Luffy decided that she should join our crew. After that she got into an argument with him about joining then u showed up after she finally gave into him." The last part didn't surprise Zoro in the slightest, Luffy was stubborn enough that everyone eventually gave in.

"So you let her in the crew when she could be an assassin or a thief," Zoro didn't know how Luffy could just not think about all the possibilities. There was a high chance that she had done something horrible if Arlong was after her, though given the fact that it was Arlong it could be nothing but that wasn't likely.

"I decided she should be our nakama," Luffy responded stubbornly. Zoro sighed there was no reasoning with Luffy when he got like this.

"Just be careful around her, you don't know enough about her to trust her completely," Zoro knew that he would be lucky if Luffy even did that, and if Luffy trusted her than most of the crew would as well.

**Nami's pov**

Who was that guy? They had called him Zoro, was he part of the crew? But no one had ever mentioned him before. Finally she decided to ask Robin.

"Who was that guy?" She asked, hoping Robin knew.

"Oh Zoro, he is a guy who lives around somewhere and comes around almost every day, he won't join the crew officially for a reason he won't say, Luffy was satisfied by him saying that he would be our nakama though."

'_Lucky guy,'_ thought Nami.

"And this is where we will sleep, the guys sleep below decks," Robin said as she opened the door to a room the size of the kitchen that was stocked with two beds. "We never know if there will be another girl so we kept an extra bed in here." Nami just nodded.

**Zoro pov**

The rest of the crew had left, they told him to watch the ship while they went hunting. They rotated who watched the ship but it seemed to be his turn quite often, probably because they knew that he would get lost and they wanted to avoid the trouble, it wasn't like he mattered though he could use the time to sleep or train. He was about to start with the first of those two when he heard footsteps on the floor. He cracked one eye open to see that new girl wandering around.

"So they left you behind?" He murmured causing her to jump, she obviously didn't expect anyone to be left on the ship. "What were you doing?"

"None of your business," it was the first thing he had ever heard her say and she had this tone that made him feel like she was trying to sneak away from the ship while the rest of the crew was gone. It wasn't really his business but he knew that if she got away Luffy would not be happy.

"Don't think that I'm going to let you get away." Gosh this was so troublesome, why couldn't he just take his nap.

"And who are you to stop me?" She was obviously irritated that she had been caught, and also obvious that he had been right on.

"I am the one they left to watch the ship, and that means everything on the ship which includes you." He almost slid his eyes closed after this line but he knew that if he gave her even a moment of opportunity that she would be gone forever.

"Oh joy," she seemed to lose all of her energy after that and slumped down to the ground next to him and leaned her head back against the railing. "How did my life turn out like this?" she muttered quietly.

"What do you mean?" Zoro really wondered about that line, he knew that Arlong was after her but hadn't she done something to deserve it? Maybe she was talking about getting stuck with the crew, but it wasn't really that bad to be with them.

"Thought dead by everyone I knew and if Arlong figures out that his plot failed then I am going to have people after my life every day," she tensed up after she said this like she hadn't realized that it was coming out of her mouth.

"And what did you do to deserve it?" he wasn't going to let himself pity this girl, she had to have done something to deserve it.

"Why did I have to do anything," she exploded, she twisted her torso to face him, "Arlong sends for people to be killed if they cough in his presence."

"I doubt he sends for people to follow them across the kingdom."

"So I didn't cough in his presence but he dragged someone through the city tied to the back of a horse for sneezing on him."

"Still doubt that he would chase someone through the kingdom for that, he wouldn't even remember them the next week."

"Arrg, I don't know why I am even talking to you," she growled as she stood up and stalked into the ship. Sighing Zoro closed his eyes as the door slammed, he would have to stay awake incase she decided to try her luck again. He sighed and pushed himself up to start training in clear view of the door.

**Nami pov**

She couldn't believe that guy, who did he think he was to question why Arlong was after her! What did he think that Arlong was? A guy who had to have legitimate reason to kill someone? And to top it all off she couldn't even get off the ship with him there, he was ruining her life. She growled as she thought more about it, the fact that he was even here meant that the rest of the crew didn't trust her not to leave, that would make leaving difficult. She couldn't believe all that had happened to her, what had she done to deserve any of it?

**Zoro pov**

There had been no more incident with Snow White by the time the crew returned and Zoro decided that it was time for him to go back home. The moment he entered the door he set off in search of his father's advisor on important people from around the world, he had to figure out where he had heard the name Snow White before and that seemed like the man to ask. He got lost a few times in the twists of his castle, in his defense it was a large castle, but eventually located the man he was looking for.

"Why Prince Zoro what can I do for you?" the man asked, clearly startled to see the Prince.

"What do you know about a girl named Snow White?" Right to the point as always, he wasn't ever one for pleasantries.

"Well," the man always got right down to business when you asked him about something to do with his particular field of expertise, "Snow White is a thief thought to have originated in the kingdom next to ours, many believe that she is just a myth but I believe that she is a real person. She steals exclusively from pirates and bandits. It is said that she wears all white including her hair and mask. That is all the knowledge that we have of this girl besides the fact that she is thought to have first appeared five years ago."

"Thank you," Zoro muttered before scurrying away to his chambers. The description fit the girl he saw on the ship, they were probably the same person. The fact that she was a thief could explain why Arlong wanted to kill her, if she stole from him he would track her down, and she had been carrying valuables with her that she could have been from him. Glancing out the window he realized how late it was, he could get information on her in the morning.

**Nami pov**

So she hadn't been able to get off the ship yesterday, but it was a new day and she had high hopes. She had slept with her mask and wig on, they were not going to see her without them, and it was going to be annoying as all heck to get the tangles out, that's why she kept her real hair short, less hassle. She didn't have any other clothes with her but that girl Robin had given her a nightdress, and she was planning on going to buy more clothes in the nearest store, it would also be a great chance to sneak away.

Yawning she got dressed in her Snow White outfit and went to meet the rest of the crew for breakfast, it would be the best time to bring up the shopping trip for the swordsman wouldn't be there and he obviously didn't trust her. Realizing that as long as that green haired guy wasn't there she could probably get away put a jump in her step that stopped the moment she entered the kitchen, there at the table sat the green haired swordsman. When she entered he turned his head to look at her before going back to his food.

Scowling behind her mask she stalked up to the cook to receive her plate of food, she didn't pay any attention to his excessive flirting but instead glared at the green haired plan ruiner. Sitting at the end of the table she pulled the bottom of her mask away from her mouth and ate the delectable food, not that she tasted it, she was far to irritated to pay any attention.

**Zoro pov**

He left the castle at first light to get to the ship before Snow White could talk the crew into something that let her get away. When she walked into the kitchen he almost smirked, it was obvious by the way that she tensed up that she was not thrilled to have him there. Waiting for her so sit down with her food he felt her glare on him, so she probably was planning on betraying their trust. Finally she sat down and lifted her fork for the first bite, he waited for her to remove her mask and to see what she was hiding. She lifted her hand to the bottom of the mask and started to lift, he clenched his fists, it was so close. Her fork darted into the space between the mask and her face and the mask snapped back down. Irritated at her way of unintentionally spiting him he decided to ruin any plans she may have without it seeming like it to the rest of the crew.

"I need to go shopping for some new clothes today," the masked girl stated simply, "can you point me to the nearest store?" And his chance presented itself.

"I can bring you, I have to go there anyway." He felt her wrath descend upon him, she knew that he would never let her escape.

"Then it's settled," said Robin, "Zoro, you take Snow White to the store and you two can guard the ship when you get back." There were nods around the room and Zoro knew that Snow White was trapped with him now.

When they had both finished eating Zoro started for the door waiting for her to follow him. He would have to keep a good eye on her on the way to the store to make sure that she didn't just slip away. He waited by the ladder for her to come out with her money then climbed down and watched her do the same, when she got to the ground he grabbed her forearm.

"What are you doing," she growled.

"I'm not going to let you sneak away and have to take the blame for it, you might have them fooled but not me you thief." That shut her up, he could tell she wasn't happy but she let herself be dragged, well maybe she didn't, it's hard to tell when you have superhuman strength.

"How much longer?" it was the first thing said in ten minutes and it wasn't said nicely.

"About five minutes." There was silence until the store came into sight. It was a lone store in the middle of the woods mean for travelers. It was only one floor but it had almost everything you could need and very rarely left anyone wanting. Entering the store Zoro looked around thankful he hadn't gotten lost, that wouldn't have been fun, and looked around for something he could pass off as what he needed.

"Will you let me go already, there isn't much I can do with only one arm and you are **not** coming in the dressing room with me."

"Fine but I am keeping you in sight." With that they began to wander the store, he always kept a close eye on her as she picked up different clothes than made her way to the dressing room. After a few minutes he realized that he had forgotten to check the dressing room and she could have escaped, he listened at the door for signs of her still being there but heard nothing.

Mentally cursing himself and her he threw open the door to reveal a shocked girl. At first Zoro thought that he had got the wrong room, this girl had short red hair and a beautiful face with large brown eyes. Without meaning to he took in the rest of her curvy body, she was in only a bra and was putting on a pair of pants, she was bending towards to do that so it's hard to blame him for the blush that colored his cheeks.

"I'm sorry I…" he started to apologize.

"Zoro you idiot get out," the girl yelled as she slammed the door shut.

'_Wait,' _thought Zoro, _' she knew my name, that must have been Snow White. Oh great I am so going to get killed for this later.'_

He leaned back against the wall with his hand covering him mouth as he remembered what he saw. He supposed that he knew that she had had a good body, her clothes had been pretty formfitting but it's one thing to know that and another to see it firsthand. And then there was her face, he hated to admit it but she was really attractive. He knew why she had to hide her face but he couldn't help but wish that she didn't.

Realizing that he didn't want to get caught like that he walked away, he had gotten a good enough view of the dressing room to know that there was no way out. He wandered around the store until he found a dark green bandanna that would be a good replacement for his old one. After buying it and tying it around his upper arm he went back to a location where he would be able to see her leave the dressing room. When she saw him she turned her head away and made her way to pay for her clothes. When she finished she made her way over to Zoro.

"You owe me," she said, he nodded knowing she was right, "to start with you can carry my bags." With that she handed him the bags, he was in no position to refuse so he took them without complaint. The moment they were out of the shop he put all the bags in one hand and grabbed her arm with the other one. It was awkward but he couldn't let her get away just because he made a mistake. There was silence for the entire walk and there was an awkward tension was between the two.

Finally they got back to the ship and Snow White clamored up the ladder as fast as she could and Zoro followed with her bags. She led him into the woman's quarters then shooed him away as she put away her clothes. Back on the deck Zoro thought again of what had happened in the store, he really hadn't meant to see her like that but he doubted that she would accept that excuse, he eventually decided to apologize anyway the next time he saw her, well as long as Sanji wasn't there, he didn't feel like dealing with the cook about that.

"Ugg why did I have to get into this situation, especially with that woman." If it had been anyone at the palace they would have let it go because he was the prince, Robin would have chuckled and anyone else he would have never seen again.

"Oh so you would have rather seen anyone else?" Zoro turned to see Snow White standing there trembling, most likely with rage.

"That's not what I meant, don't go jumping to conclusions when you don't know the whole story."

"Oh like you've never done that," her tone was screaming sarcastic.

"Okay I suppose I deserve that."

"Oh you deserve way more than that but I don't feel like wasting my breath." It was at that moment that Zoro remembered the apology he was going to give her. Sighing he decided that he couldn't let their relationship go on like this if Luffy wanted her to be part of the crew.

"Look I'm sorry okay, you can't blame me for thinking that you used that opportunity to sneak away."

"Fine, you still owe me though."

"Fine, it was still an accident though, and before I didn't mean that I would have rather seen anyone else I meant that I wouldn't get in nearly as much trouble for it happening."

"Oh so this has happened to you before?" She didn't sound to happy and Zoro realized that he should have probably just dropped it.

"That is still not what I meant, this has never happened to me before, if it had I severely doubt that I would have been this nervous about it. I only meant that anyone else I would have never saw again and would be able to forget it ever happened quickly."

"So you're going to think about me like that?" She still sounded pissed but there seemed to be a pleased undertone.

"It's not my fault, I'm a guy and you're a beautiful girl, it's not really something you forget." It was right when he finished talking that he realized that he had broken his pattern of speech and said something sweet.

**Nami pov**

She was suddenly extremely glad for her mask, it hid the blush the covered her cheeks. Had he really just called her beautiful? Really? Great now she was acting like a girl and she didn't have time for that, she couldn't let him get to her, if she did she would have something keeping her here when she knew she had to leave. And he was one of them, a pirate. She shook her head to get out of the unthinkable mindset, she didn't want to get caught up in this mood. She had to get away before anything more happened, she turned to leave but the moment that she took the first step away she felt a hand on her upper arm.

"And where do you think you are going?" his voice was gruff, she detected a bit of annoyance and even some embarrassment, maybe he really was sorry?

'_No_,_'_ she shook her head, _'she couldn't let herself feel that, she had to stay annoyed at the hot swordsman…she did not just think that.' _She took a deep breath and let herself dwell on that for a minute, _'okay he is attractive but still I can't let myself feel anything more for him, admitting that he is hot is just a statement of fact and nothing more, wait I think he just said something, crap what did he say!'_

"What," she probably sounded like an idiot but she really had no idea what he said.

"I said I'm not letting you out of my sight until the rest of them get back, you know the ship better today and I don't trust you not to leave."

"Fine," with that she pulled her arm free and sat in the same place she had been the day before.

"Now why do you wear that mask," he asked as he plopped down next to her, " if he is after you wouldn't he recognize the mask as well?"

"He would but others won't, they will see a nameless woman and it wouldn't work that way id I didn't have it, you can recognize a face and spread rumors about that or talk about it later but a mask makes that harder."

"So you think you are important enough to get recognized?"

"Just because a baka like you doesn't know my face doesn't mean that everyone doesn't know me. Everyone can be recognized by someone." She added the last part almost as an afterthought when she realized that she had said too much.

"I guess that works," he sounded like it was really hard for him to admit that any of her ideas had any merit to them at all. "I still wish you would lose the mask though, you look better without it." Once again she was glad that she had the mask to cover her blushing cheeks.

"So what about you," she asked changing the subject, they had to get out of the dangerous ground, she could not be tied here, "Robin said that you somehow got around joining the crew."

"It wasn't that hard, I came by everyday and Luffy believed me when I said I would whenever I could, we are still nakama and that satisfies him," Zoro leaned his head back and closed his eyes, for once she didn't even think about escaping, she was too busy stopping herself from obsessing over how good he looked.

"Why don't you just join the crew, you obviously want to."

"I can't," he stated simply.

"But why?"

"I just can't, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"WE'RE BACK!" shouted Luffy.

**Inside Nami's journal**

The next five weeks passes in a blur, by the end of the first week I stopped trying to run away, I realized that these were not bad pirates, I think Zoro was a big part of that. I still wear my mask and wig but I am thinking of telling the crew the whole truth. I have grown much closer to Zoro during the time, it's usually just us left on the ship, there are a few days that he doesn't come and those are the worst, I had to admit to myself already that I like him, I might even love him. I still haven't figured out his secret but… I have to go, Zoro is here and he says he has to talk to me, I wonder what it is about?


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: okay the second part is here and it only took me a day :D I just couldn't stop writing and thank you for the reviews I was smiling all day because of them :) okay I still don't own One Piece :( So please review my story pretty please with ZoNa on top review :) *looks hopeful***

**Zoro pov**

Today was one of those days that his father took an interest in him, one of those few days where it was almost impossible to reach the ship. He sighed as he thought about Snow White, they had become close in the five weeks they had known each other since they were usually left on the ship together. Of course he still didn't know what she had done but that hardly mattered anymore and she had stopped trying to run away from the crew. He hadn't told her the truth about himself yet but he was planning on doing it the next day. He hated to admit it, especially since he knew that she was bound to leave, but he had fallen in love with her over the time. He wished that…

"Prince Zoro are you paying attention?" asked his tutor worriedly, he was a naturally nervous man but even more so when it came to the Prince.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" asked Zoro gruffly, annoyed that he had been pulled out of his thoughts about the girl in white.

"I was explaining the recent history of the kingdom to our right," the old man squeaked.

"Carry on," Zoro responded.

"Eleven years ago the queen of the kingdom was murdered in front of her two daughters," began the frightened man, calming slightly as he showed off his great knowledge, "The man who preformed this act was a Pirate by the name of Arlong. This is a portrait of the family two weeks before this pirate came to their kingdom." The man pulled a picture out of the stack of papers in front of him and presented it to Zoro who wouldn't have given it a second glance if he hadn't noticed the bright red hair on one of the girls, a color he had only seen once before.

"What was the name of the red haired daughter?" Zoro asked without looking up from the younger version of the face that had been ingrained in his mind since he had seen it accidently five weeks earlier.

"That would be the younger daughter and I believe her name was Nami."

"And what happened to her?"

"It is believed that she joined Arlong's crew after the hostile takeover." Zoro glanced up sharply causing the nervous man to fall off his chair. Not caring about the fact that he was supposed to be in lessons Zoro tore out of the castle and ran to the ship.

"Where's Snow White?" he growled at the first crew member he saw, who happened to be Usopp.

"She's in her room." Usopp seemed flustered by Zoro's tone but the swordsman was in too much of a hurry to care. He pushed past the sniper and quickly arrived at the woman's quarters. After knocking on the door he waited.

"Who is it?" Snow Whites voice floated out from the room before his causing any irritation he had over his discovery to subside, she had to have her reasons and he couldn't be mad at her if he hadn't been completely honest himself. Though he would still get the whole story on what had happened out of her today.

"Zoro and I have to talk to you."

"Oh, please come in, the door is unlocked." With that the green haired man stepped into the room. He glance around to see Snow White sitting at her desk wearing her usually short attire and her mask and wig. She had turned on the stool to face him and was sitting with her legs crossed in a very relaxed sort of way. Zoro had been in here a few times before, it was one of the best places to talk if you didn't want to get interrupted.

"I was with my tutor this morning," he felt no need to hide this fact if he was going to explain himself to her anyway, "learning about the recent history of the kingdoms around here," he saw her stiffen when he said this and he knew that she must suspect that he knew something, "when I came across an interesting photo. Would you like to hear about it Snow White, or should I say Nami?"

"What do you know?" her voice was low and all sense of being calm and relaxed had left her, she seemed dejected that he had found her out.

"Only that the woman in the room with me is the princess of the kingdom that we are in and she joined the pirates that killed her mother."

"I had no choice but to join them, I'm guessing your tutor didn't tell you that," she sneered over the word tutor. "Did they tell you that Arlong made a deal with a seven year old girl to free the town she loved if she paid him 100,000,000. Did they mention that he decided that this deal wasn't worth his time after eleven years and sent for her to be killed and her money to be stolen? Did they even mention that she had to be hated by everyone that she knew because they thought she had betrayed them, or how hard it was for her to work with the man who had killed her mother? Right in front of her eyes I might add." Zoro was taken aback by her outburst.

"No he didn't mention that," Zoro kept the pity out of his voice, it wasn't what she would want and she would just hate him all the more for it. He noticed tears appearing below her mask and heard quite sobs escaping from her lips, awkwardly he walked over and hugged her letting her cry into his shoulder. She reached her arms around and pulled him tighter, the two stayed like that for a few moments before each of them realized what they were doing and they backed away.

Blushing Zoro looked away, when he noticed movement he looked up to see her remove her mask and wig, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. This time he got to take a good look at her, she had beautiful large brown eyes that made him want to protect her and her shining red hair fit her perfectly. She had this look of sorrow on her face and a tear was still on her cheek, it made a bubble of rage rise within Zoro and he felt that he had to make Arlong pay for what he had done to this innocent young woman.

**Nami's pov**

'_I can't believe I just told him everything,'_ she thought, _'I mean I trust him but I just laid my whole life out before him, and to top it all off I even cried!_'

She looked up to see that Zoro had a pink tinted face and felt less embarrassed about her own blush, though it was hidden behind her mask. She realized that there was no point to wearing her mask, she had kept it on just in case he didn't remember her face and wouldn't recognize it if he ever saw a picture of her, obviously that hadn't worked since he had recognized her seven year old face. Sighing she reached up and removed her mask and wig before looking back at the man she had just burdened with her problems. He had this look of concentration on his face like he wanted to beat someone to a pulp.

"Well," she said awkwardly, it was hard to talk when that look was directed at her, "what is your story? You have to be someone if you have a tutor."

"Oh, that," Zoro said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "well I'm surprised that you don't know, didn't you have tutor's when you were younger?"

"I did but you seem to forget that I was only seven when the tutors stopped." As she said this she racked her brain for anywhere she could have possibly heard his name, he had a tutor meaning he was important and he wasn't someone who would expect to be known if he wasn't really really important. Well if he thought that she would have learned about him from her tutors he was probably someone that she would have learned about. She was frustrated with herself for not having kept up with her studies until she suddenly realized where she had heard that name before.

"You're the prince of the next kingdom." There was no question in her voice, she knew she was right, she had seen a picture of him before Arlong had come.

"So you already knew?" it didn't sound like a question.

"I just remembered you now, I had no reason to think that I would know you before. Why are you here though?"

"I got lost," Nami chuckled at that, she knew how bad his sense of direction was, "and found myself here, I became friends with Luffy and just coming back whenever I could, it's a good place to train or sleep, nobody bothers you like they do at the castle. And you should tell the rest of the crew your story, they will understand and probably help you to get rid of Arlong."

"I know, go and tell everyone in the ship to go into the kitchen, I'll go and get everyone from the deck." Standing up she followed Zoro out of the room without putting her mask or wig back on, she trusted them and figured it was time that they saw her without them.

**Unknown pov**

Walking through the forest in search of game to eat for dinner they frowned as they spotted a ship. Getting closer they spotted movement on the deck of the ship. Slowly and quietly they approached even farther until they could see the faces, suddenly a red haired woman came on deck and their eyes widened.

'_So it seems like somebody isn't as dead as we thought, I can think of someone who would be very interested in this piece of information.'_

**Nami pov**

"And that's what happened," she finished. The crew had reacted surprisingly well to her story, most of them hadn't even batted an eyelash when they heard her past. They had been surprised at first when they had seen her without her mask and wig, Usopp had pulled his slingshot on her, she had done some fast talking to get out of that one. Sanji had freaked out and his eye turned into a giant heart, that was by far the most predictable reaction. Other than that they hadn't really cared about the change.

"I say we go fight Arlong," Luffy said, rash as always.

"Wait Luffy we need to make plans, Arlong is strong and I don't know if you could even beat him," Nami knew his strength but Arlong was really strong.

"Nami's right," it was Usopp speaking this time, "I mean Captain Usopp could easily take him but we should make plans." Robin laughed lightly at that.

"It's late now we can plan tomorrow," Nami said with a yawn. The rest of the crew agreed and soon they were off to bed and Zoro left for his home.

The next morning Nami awoke and momentarily panicked when she felt that he mask was gone, it took a moment but she eventually remembered the day before and relaxed back into her bed before deciding that she wanted to take a walk. Getting dressed and leaving quietly so she wouldn't disturb the rest of the crew. The cool morning air woke her up as she took in the beautiful sunrise. She had barely taken four steps when she noticed Zoro emerging from the woods.

"You're up early," he said quietly as he approached.

"I could say the same for you," she responded blushing slightly.

"Luffy said to be here early, we are going after Arlong today, you know he won't wait after your story."

"Yeah, I know," Nami said quietly, "Zoro will you please promise me to be careful."

"I can try," he murmured before pulling her into a hug, "we will get him back for what he did to you and your kingdom," he whispered into her hair. A moment later he let go of her and boarded the ship. She smiled softly before turning back to the ship.

**Zoro's pov**

He didn't know what had possessed him to hug her but he was glad that he did, it could be the last time that he would ever see her if Arlong's crew was really as tough as she made them out to be. If he would never return from that fight at least he could die with the memory of that morning in his head.

As he entered the kitchen he noticed that he was the last one there and seated himself at the table next to the captain. They all sat in silence for a few moments as they thought about what they were going to do.

"I'll take Arlong," Luffy finally said, breaking the silence. Zoro wished he could protest but he knew that their captain was their best chance at beating him.

"We can fan out and take them all one on one, if we finish a fight early we can trace the steps of the others to help out," that was Robin and the rest of the crew nodded at her idea, it was probably the best thing they could do.

For the next hour the guys planned in the kitchen, well the guys and Robin. Nami wasn't going, she knew she wasn't strong enough to stand a chance against his crew and no one expected her to return to the scene of the torture she had endured for 11 years. She wrote in her journal until she heard a knock on the door, it was Zoro.

"We are going now," he spoke softly.

"Okay, just be careful," she told him.

"I will," he responded before shutting the door and leaving her alone on the ship.

**Zoro's pov**

They had made good time to the castle, if you knew where you were going it only took a few hours by foot. He was finally on his was to defeat the man who had ruined Nami's life. There hadn't been any scouts in the woods, probably because Arlong doubted that anyone could pose a threat to him, especially after 11 years. As they neared the town the first battles began, one by one their crew got picked off to fight by themselves and by the time they reached the castle there was only him, Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp left.

They ran through the twisting halls until they reached the throne room, there were four men in it and Zoro knew that the one in the middle was Arlong, as much as he wanted to beat the man to a bloody pulp he knew that he had to leave it to Luffy who was stronger than him and he turned his attention to the swordsman of the bunch.

Every slash that he did and every move that he made seemed stronger and filled with purpose. The other man may have had six swords but they were no match for the three that the green haired swordsman had. He moved faster than ever before as he slashed again and again and avoided any swing that his opponent made, he didn't know what this man had done to help Arlong but he would pay dearly for it, for ruining Nami's life.

**Nami's pov**

It had been a few hours since they had left and she had to get her mind of worrying, finally she decided to take a walk to clear her head. As she left the ship she saw an old woman with a basket in hobbling towards her from the woods.

"Would you like an apple?" the old woman croaked showing Nami her basked full of mouth watering red fruits. Realizing that she hadn't eaten a thing that day Nami nodded and reached into her pocket to pay the woman. "No need for that," the wrinkled lady spoke again, "it is payment enough to satisfy a customer." Nami thanked her before taking a bite out of the apple, it was delicious but as she swallowed she heard the old woman cackle in a way that made her skin crawl. She turned to look at the woman but everything went black.

**Zoro's pov**

It had been a hard fight but he had defeated the six armed man and from the looks of it the rest of the crew had won their fights as well, well most of them had. Luffy was still fighting Arlong but it looked as if it would soon come to an end. Finally Luffy threw one last punch causing Arlong to fly across the room and crack his head against the stone wall so hard that the wall threatened to turn to rubble.

"That was for Nami," he growled. Strangely the regaining consciousness man that Usopp had fought laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Zoro growled, he had a sickening feeling in his stomach and he knew that whatever it was it couldn't be good.

"You may have stopped Arlong but you will be too late to save your precious princess." Zoro kicked the man in the stomach causing him to cough out blood.

"What do you mean we can't save her?"

"She will be stone cold by the time you get back, she is probably already dead." Zoro's eyes widened, she couldn't be dead… could she? He didn't stick around to find out anything more, he had to get back to the ship as fast as he could. Running faster than he ever had before with the rest of the crew hot on his heels they made it to the ship in record time. He looked around the clearing wildly until he saw her slumped on the ground with an apple a few inches from her hand and a bite out of it. His whole world came crashing down and he was far to shocked to move.

He barely noticed Chopper run up to her and shake his head. He didn't notice Luffy rage with tears streaming down his face or that Luffy was being restrained by Sanji and Frankie. He didn't notice anything around him, he could have died right then and he wouldn't have noticed or cared. Without thought his feet took step after step to bring him to the fallen woman. He knelt by her side and picked her limp body up into his arms where he cradled her against his chest. Tears tore down his face and sobs racked his throat but he didn't notice, the only thing that he could register was the peaceful face of the girl he loved.

"I guess I should have told you before I left for that fight, I probably should have told you the moment I knew, Nami I love you. I have for a while now, I didn't care what your past was, I only cared about you. I guess it's too late now but I had to tell you sometime right?" his voice broke on the last syllable and he broke down crying even harder. He opened his eyes for a moment before bending down and kissing her full on the lips. When he pulled back he imagined her whispering his name the way she had in the forest that morning. His tears came harder than and he let out a cry of raw anguish.

**A few days later**

Looking at his reflection in the mirror Zoro wished he could go back in time and change what had happened on that day. He wished he could have warned her not to trust anyone and to stay inside. He wished he could have gotten back to the ship before she had taken a bite and warned her not to but it was too late now and he knew it. He inspected his black suit in the mirror, tugging on the hem so it fell straight. He felt tears in his eyes and hurriedly rubbed them away, he wouldn't cry again, though he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself once he was out there.

He thought back to the short time he had known her, how she had spunk and a personality that he had never thought he would see in a girl and probably never would again. He thought about how they hadn't gotten along at first and how he had accidently walk in on her at the store. He remembered how she used to try and slip away from them at every chance she had, that seemed so foreign now she hadn't tried that in the last few weeks. Once again he felt the need to wipe the tear from his eyes, he just couldn't believe what had happened.

Thinking about the day that he had finally learned the truth about her he knew that he should have told her then that he loved her, it would have been the best time for that. Thinking about how he had held her while she cried and supported her while she relieved her past to the crew made him wish that they had had more times like that. The time in the woods had been good but he couldn't help but feel that he should have warned her too, that he should have told her to keep herself out of harm's way, if he had done that he would never of had to go through the pain and heartbreak that he did.

He wished that Arlong was still alive so he could put him through more pain for what he did for Nami, but wishing didn't help anything, he had firsthand experience with that. He couldn't help but remember when that man had told him that she was dead, he couldn't believe him but he had run back to the ship only to find that he was telling the truth. He couldn't stop his mind from replying what had happened next, he remembered seeing her body lying there and knowing that she was dead but unable to believe it, he remembered walking over to her with tears down her face and holding her close to his chest. He remembered his chocked confession and planting that kiss on her cold lips. He remembered thinking about her saying his name, and he remembered his anguished cry. He then remembered…

"Hey Zoro are you ready," it was Luffy, being formal for once with his black suit and his solemn expression. Behind him was the rest of the crew all dressed in black. Zoro took on last glance at the mirror and nodded following the captain out of the room. The rest of the crew took their seats as Zoro walked up to the front and pulled the black curtain aside.

Smiling he took his place across from his almost bride in her black wedding dress, it had just seemed fitting somehow. He took her hands in his and felt tears of joy spring to his eyes once again. He was just as happy as when he had looked down from his cry to see her eyes opened in wonder with her hands clutching his shirt like a scared kitten. She had spoken his name in a soft voice filled with wonder and he had leaned down and kissed her. He hadn't believed that he would ever be able to gaze into her large brown eyes again when he had seen her collapsed in the clearing.

**Nami's pov**

She didn't know how she was alive but she was glad she was. Eventually after having no other theory they went with true loves kiss, cheesy but surprisingly fitting. She wished she could have stopped herself from eating that apple and putting Zoro through that pain, no matter how brief it had been. She knew it was a bad idea the moment she had heard the old woman cackle but it had been too late to stop then. The next thing she knew she was in Zoro's arms with their mouths pressed together. She had whispered his name but he hadn't heard her as he had howled at the sky, she had never heard someone in that much pain before and it scared her and she knew she had to help him. She had said his name again and this time he had looked at her, his eyes filled with disbelief and hope, when he saw her he had instantly kissed her again before hugging close to his chest and telling her never to scare him like that again.

The next few moments had been hectic and there was a lot of celebrating over Arlong's defeat and Nami's survival. After that night she had to return to her kingdom to sort everything out, it had taken a long time, the town was celebrating Arlong's defeat but there were many problems to sort out. She had met with her sister who told her that she was not going to rule the kingdom, she wanted a simple life and would live in the cottage they had visited with their mother and raise the mikan's. It was when she had returned to the castle for the night that she was met by Zoro and a marriage proposal, of course she accepted.

They talked logistics and decided that they would combine their kingdoms, there was no one to rule Nami's kingdom if they didn't and it would be easier to help the people who had been hurt by Arlong if they had access to his country's wealth. After that had been settled they planned the wedding for three days in the future but they could hardly wait, well if they had their first child would have been born a bit later.

It seemed as if the whole kingdom had turned out for the wedding, well both of the kingdoms actually. They cheered as they watched the ceremony end and the lovers kiss, now as husband and wife. Neither of them ever forgot the events that led up to their marriage and it was a story they told their children over the years. They still saw the Straw Hat pirates for a while but eventually they had to leave to answer the call of the sea on their ship the thousand sunny. They stopped by every few years but they never seemed satisfied until they were back out to sea again for more adventures.

**Okay so I really can't add more to this story so it is officially over once again please review, it feeds me :)**


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